Gas turbines have been widely used to provide electric power, usually as a standby for both peak power and reserve power requirements in the utility industry. Gas turbines are preferred because of their rapid starting capability and low capital cost. Conventional gas turbines, however, operate with reduced thermal efficiency due to the high exit temperatures of the exhaust gas stream and the resulting thermal loss. Therefore, a gas turbine is often combined with a heat recovery steam generator to improve overall system efficiency.
The heat recovery steam generator can be employed to drive a steam turbine for power output, or to provide process steam in co-generation cycles. Applications requiring steam cycles above 140 bar operating pressure typically employ once-through heat recovery steam generators having a vertically oriented exhaust gas flow. In the once-through heat recovery generator having vertical exhaust gas flow, the exhaust gas stream from the gas turbine flows upward through stacked arrangements of heat recovery assemblies and air pollution control assemblies. These heat recovery assemblies employ horizontally oriented heat transfer tubes and forced circulation of the heat transfer fluid therethrough.
Fossil fuel fired combustion processes such as that employed in a gas turbine, have the potential to produce pollutants including nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide in the exhaust gas stream. High temperature SCR (selective catalytic reduction) catalyst materials can be positioned in the exhaust gas stream of the gas turbine to reduce these undesired emission outputs. Commercially available high temperature SCR catalyst materials are generally limited to a maximum operating temperature of 565.degree. C. Common medium temperature catalyst materials are limited to an operating temperature of 400.degree. C. However, the temperature of exhaust gases exiting advanced technology gas turbines are typically above 620.degree. C. Therefore, the air pollution control catalyst of the assemblies must be installed downstream from at least some of the heat transfer surface, usually between heat recovery assemblies, in order to reduce the maximum service temperatures experienced by the catalyst materials. Therefore, the catalyst reactor chamber is embedded within the heat recovery steam generation vertical exhaust gas flow path.
One type of heat recovery steam generator is vertically oriented and has a vertical exhaust gas flow. In such an arrangement, the heat transfer tubes are oriented horizontally and typically employ circulation pumps in the evaporator sections. Alternately, heat recovery steam generators can alternately employ a horizontal exhaust gas flow path. Heat recovery steam generators having horizontal exhaust gas flow employ heat recovery assemblies having vertically oriented heat transfer tubes with natural circulation of the heat transfer fluid therethrough. The natural circulation reduces or eliminates the requirements for circulation pumps. Heat recovery assemblies having vertically oriented heat transfer tubes and natural circulation of the heat transfer fluid therethrough can experience thermal shock during rapid start up particularly to the associated thick-walled pressure vessels. These thick-walled pressure vessels, i.e. drums, separate the steam and water, recirculating the water through the heat recovery assembly.